{"id":56151,"date":"2026-04-21T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/?p=56151"},"modified":"2026-04-21T12:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T15:26:11","slug":"presidential-elections-still-without-results-in-peru","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/presidential-elections-still-without-results-in-peru\/","title":{"rendered":"Presidential elections still without results in Peru"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Several days after the presidential election, the count stands at more than 93% of ballots tallied, according to the portal of the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE). First place is held by Keiko Fujimori (Fuerza Popular) with 17% of valid votes. She is followed by Roberto S\u00e1nchez (Juntos por el Per\u00fa) with 12%, and very close behind, Rafael L\u00f3pez Aliaga (Renovaci\u00f3n Popular) with 11.9%. The difference between the latter two is around thirteen thousand votes. There are still more than five thousand contested or challenged tally sheets, whose resolution will be decisive in determining the candidate who will compete against Fujimori, who advances to the runoff for the fourth time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As is usual, the concentration of the vote differs greatly across the country\u2019s various regions. In Lima, there is a clear preference for the right-wing candidate L\u00f3pez Aliaga, with 21%, while in the south the left-wing candidate S\u00e1nchez has greater support, as in the case of Cusco with 23%. In Loreto, an eastern electoral district, Fujimori has 28%, as she does in northern constituencies such as Tumbes and Piura. Meanwhile, Peruvians residing abroad voted 26% for the candidate from Renovaci\u00f3n Popular and 17% for Fujimori.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pre-election polls had anticipated a three-way tie for second place. High voter volatility was reported in the final days, during which the publication of polls was prohibited. Five candidates account for approximately 50% of the votes cast. What is clear is that political fragmentation has once again become evident, as in 2021, since two candidates who together do not reach 30% of valid votes\u2014approximately 25% of votes cast\u2014will compete in the runoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, projected voter turnout exceeded that recorded in the 2021 elections during the pandemic. The case of Peruvians abroad is particularly noteworthy, with turnout reaching 40%, far higher than historical participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An atypical election day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The election day did not unfold with the normality typically seen in Peruvian elections. There were serious logistical failures in the distribution of electoral materials in Lima, which affected the opening times of polling stations and, in turn, the legitimacy of the process. The National Jury of Elections (JNE) has filed a criminal complaint, while the Comptroller\u2019s Office and even Congress have initiated oversight actions, summoning electoral authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the days following the election, L\u00f3pez Aliaga alleged fraud through a premeditated operation aimed at affecting a specific group of his voters in the capital. Other candidates who lagged behind in the election have joined calls for a new electoral process. S\u00e1nchez has announced mobilizations if the electoral result is not respected. To date, there are more than a dozen requests to annul the elections, but this condition is only \u043f\u0440\u0435\u0434\u0443\u0441\u043c\u043e\u0442\u0440\u0435\u043d\u043e when two-thirds of the votes are null or blank. The JNE must rule on these requests, as well as on the challenges to tally sheets. Its spokespersons indicate that this process could take several more weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investigations will determine the reasons for the irregularities, which are unusual in the country\u2019s electoral processes. However, to leap from there to claims of fraud or premeditated operations targeting specific groups of voters is unwarranted, as there is no evidence to support such assertions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The greatest damage caused concerns distrust in elections and in the electoral bodies themselves. According to the National Institute of Statistics, in 2017 distrust in the ONPE stood at 68.5% and at 71.4% in the JNE. By 2025, this had risen to 77.9% and 80%, respectively. This was undoubtedly fueled by allegations of electoral fraud in 2021, which were not proven in proceedings before the JNE nor in the congressional investigative commission created for that purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Runoff scenarios<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The runoff election will take place on June 7. One scenario is a contest between the right-wing candidate and the left-wing candidate who embraces \u201cCastillismo.\u201d This would once again polarize citizens along ideological lines and reopen territorial cleavages between Lima and both the northern and Andean southern regions. In that case, the challenge will be to capture the moderate electorate that does not identify with either extreme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second scenario is a runoff between two right-wing candidates. This would pit two different profiles against each other: a more popular right versus a more conservative one. In this scenario, negative voting will play a central role, and campaign strategies will be decisive. Deepening confrontation could affect future parliamentary coalitions necessary to govern in a Congress where no party holds a majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new Senate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, starting in July, Congress will once again be bicameral. Who wins the presidential election will be decisive for parliamentary dynamics. In recent years, constant changes in the presidency have distorted the classic relationship between government and opposition. In fact, even though official results are still pending, the available information suggests that in no scenario will the executive have its own majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Senate composed of six political parties is projected, three of them new. Given that these would be the same in both chambers, coordination of the legislative agenda along party lines is expected. This is significant, as senators do not have legislative initiative and could instead build consensus with deputies from their parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Peru, the Senate holds significant veto power. Fuerza Popular would secure 22 of the 60 seats, enabling it to control that veto for decisions requiring a two-thirds majority, such as removing a president for permanent moral incapacity. Moreover, the prospects for forming coalitions depend not only on political parties but also on the cohesion within their caucuses, as the link between politicians and their parties is very weak, as evidenced by numerous cases of party-switching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, the electoral process has not closed the cycle of political instability in Peru, and institutions remain weakened. The scenarios that lie ahead depend on how much the political system can absorb the discontent stemming from the results of this first presidential election. Meanwhile, some regions and parties are already engaged in another campaign: the subnational elections to be held in October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The scenarios that open up depend on how much the political system can absorb the discontent arising from the result of this first presidential election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":56136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16818,16859],"tags":[15635],"gps":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-56151","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-elecciones-en","8":"category-peru-en","9":"tag-debates"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56151"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56154,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56151\/revisions\/56154"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56151"},{"taxonomy":"gps","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gps?post=56151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}